Dichotomy
by Grapenillacupcake
Summary: A look into some of the core parts about being a system with Good Cop and Bad Cop. -Written by the host of a system.-
Dichotomy.

/

 _[Roles.]_

There's no doubt of what role Bad Cop plays in his system. He is a protector. He is the one who steps in to ensure Good Cop's safety, he is the one that prevents him from taking in any harm. Bad Cop protects him emotionally, fronting so he can deal with all the stress, the insults, the anxiety and harder jobs. He protects him physically, beating whoever was threatening Good Cop's safety to a bloody pulp or taking in the blows.

But Good Cop doesn't just sit there, doing nothing, relaxing while Bad Cop protects. He is always just a step behind, watching carefully. He is the one who steps in, to calm Bad Cop's rages, stop him from needlessly hurting himself. Good Cop is the one who ensures they ate today, that they get sleep. While Bad Cop will throw his clothes everywhere, put random objects anywhere and let the trash build up, Good Cop does not. He does the laundry, double checks to make sure everything is where he left it, and he takes care of trash. He also doesn't forget to recycle.

Good Cop keeps Bad Cop healthy, in tip-top shape. He keeps him emotionally stable and happy. He makes sure everything is organized. He is the organizer and the caretaker.

Without him, Bad Cop wouldn't be the protector he is today.

/

 _[Fronting.]_

It's the easiest thing for them. In just one blink, it'll be Bad Cop and in the next, Good Cop. Fronting is rapid, delay between the change nonexistent. Limbs will respond to the change in a heartbeat. Their voice goes from low to high in a second, never straining or struggling to keep that pitch steady.

It's incredibly helpful. It means Bad Cop can change the second Good Cop is in trouble. And when he collapses onto the bed, Good Cop can switch into quickly get them properly dressed and put their clothes away. Often times, Good Cop will front only to take a bite out of a donut or a croissant before letting Bad Cop return to their paperwork.

However, it's equally as troublesome. Good Cop can easily pop in and take over, compromising his safety. As well, Bad Cop will front in the middle of Good Cop's conversations with neighbors or fellow citizens, rudely ending the situation to do whatever HE wanted to do instead.

Little things get each other to. Bad Cop will grumble and complain when he returns to see the shopping cart filled with junk food, stuffed animals, toys, and other cutesy stuff. Good Cop will flush red with anger when Bad Cop refuses to let him brush their teeth or change into a different pair of underwear.

Truly, fronting is a huge challenge when it comes to their differences; but it's well worth it in their opinion.

/

 _[Memories.]_

Typically, they share each and every second of their memories. Even in the span of hours, the other can front and know exactly what is going on, what the other was just doing and what they need to do next. Sharing memories is just a natural part for the other.

On rare occasions though, memories are not shared. Instead, they are purposely kept to whoever was fronting at the time, locked tight and shut. Bad Cop, as one would expect, has the most. His locked memories are much of the same. Insults being thrown at Good Cop, the worst of beatings from Lord Businesses, morbid sights of perishing Master Builders or their desperate pleas to be let go; anything to keep Good Cop's happiness up.

Bad Cop honestly believes Good Cop doesn't have any memories to himself, which is actually untrue.

Good Cop has private memories of Lord Business targeting him, through verbal or physical blows. Of all the stares on them as they walked down the street, the judgemental whispers. Of all the times, in a fit of rage, Bad Cop has hurt their body- so he will never doubt himself, never hate himself.

Sometimes, both wish they didn't have to keep them private. The burden of hiding them is increased with the sheer number of shared memories, but they push on for the sake of the other.

It's always for the other.

/

 _[Dissociation.]_

It typically didn't happen often. A bit ironic since they had dissociative identity disorder, but life is funny sometimes.

They were very close to each other, knew each other since practically the beginning of their lives, so there wasn't the fear of unfamiliarity. They knew everything about the other as they did about themselves, perhaps even more so. As said before, their fronting skills have always been excellent. Their memory sharing is to, preventing gaps in memories or a sudden front change with absolute no concept of where they were and what they were doing.

Though, it has happened. Only a few times.

When they were very little children, Good Cop could have panic attacks that would make him lightheaded. Back then, Bad Cop still didn't know what to do and Good Cop was too scared to talk to his parents about it. Bad Cop would stay close to front, trying to calm him down, but the light headedness made it hard to process what was going on. Then, Bad Cop would also get confused, and things would blur.

Reality didn't seem real, everything hurt and yet they almost felt numb to it. They could see that the body, Good Cop, was still gasping for breath, the body still shaking. But it felt like a home movie. They could see themselves, freaking out, but they were outside of the footage. They were someone else completely, just watching the past with a distant, numb view.

Once they got the guts to tell their parents, things got better. Bad Cop learned how to take care of Good Cop, plus their roles began to truly form which led to more stability in their lives. Especially with bullies.

Nowadays, only the rare meltdown from their shared autism could get them to dissociate. Which was probably the best solution to the meltdown but it still wasn't so pleasant for two people who were very good at staying grounded.

 _[Host.]_

Many people asked them, "Who is the host? Who was the original?"

Both of them, for once, would respond with the same reply, "Us."

Then, whoever asked would try to play it off as they told a joke, fake laugh until the two reaffirmed their reply. Things would get awkward, more questions would be asked, and usually Bad Cop told them to leave or else.

It wasn't a sensitive subject but it was the truth. They were both the hosts. They, at least in their opinions, were the original. As far back as they could remember, they had always existed. Good Cop never woke up one day too Bad Cop yelling, "DARNY DARN DARN DARN!" in their head. Bad Cop never once suddenly found himself in a pink sparkly apron, taking out funfetti muffins.

Okay, well, they did. All the time. But the point is, neither of them suddenly popped out of nowhere. They were born as themselves. They grew together, learned together, their identities, opinions and abilities forming as they aged. Just like any child.

Ma and Pa seemed to agree. They truthfully replied it was certainly like that and they had the pictures and videos to prove it. Ma often joked she gave birth to two for the price of one. It was still one of their favorites.

/

 _[Headspace.]_

The concept of a headspace was not foreign to them. Through support groups and online research, they had long since done their reading of headspaces. To their knowledge, however, they didn't have one.

It sounded a lot more confusing than it was. When either left the front, it was like their eyes were just shut tight. The sensory input for vision was gone. If they wanted to, they could stay close and listen to the outside world. They could speak out loud here, so the other could hear them; almost like they were thoughts.

To them, it was normal. They were fine without one.

...Then the infamous "Lord Business got rid of Good Cop for awhile" incident happened.

When Good Cop was "erased", he was in a vast sea of white. Absolute purity, no indentations, no signs of life. Just him, floating in the bleak color.

He was terrified. On the verge of a panic attack, suffering from immense pain but even worse- the unfamiliar sting of feeling alone. The unnatural sensation of one, of being "me" and not "us."

But the more he drifted, the more he struggled to cope, begging and wishing for Bad Cop, to take care of him, to ensure he was alive and okay, the more things began to change.

It was subtle, at first. The endless whiteness slowly changed in color. Instead of drifting aimlessly, it began to feel like there was a path, that he had more weight in his movements. Drifting turned to floating and while he couldn't do much, he had the freedom to move around, to change directions. Then, floating became walking. The whiteness became a solid piece of ground.

As he walked forward, the color change was more apparent. Suddenly, the ground was the light shade of grass. Whiteness shifted into a pastel blue, a sky. As he started at this sky, Good Cop stepped in something wet and cold. He flinched, stepping back in fear- only to realize it was a river. Looking ahead, hills and mountains were forming, worn dirt paths slowly going up. The land was dotted with flowers, trees coating the land.

Good Cop breath was taken away. This was an almost perfect recreation of his childhood house in the forest, the easy life he had with Ma, Pa, and his brother, Bad Cop. He looked around with tears in his eyes, remembering their days of play. They would climb trees, roll down hills and imagine-play they were cops, using a crooked stick as a banet to twirl around or to act like a gun. He laughed, recalling the day Bad Cop turned to front with a flower crown Good Cop made on their head. He blushed, grumbled angrily, but refused to take it off for days.

It was then Good Cop felt calm. His emotions returned, desperation forming into determination. His mind, no longer muddled and panicked, made him come to the conclusion that had him running to save Bad Cop.

 _'I'm almost certain I'm not dead and that this place is real. I must be in a headspace. If I'm in a headspace, then I'm still in the body. I'm still with Bad Cop.'_

He was right. Good Cop managed to find their old house, ran up to where their room was and just right there was Bad Cop standing there, staring out a window. When Good Cop squinted enough, he realized it was the physical version of the front; the window was not showing the headspace but the outside world. He then walked closer, announced he was back, then the two had a tender hug before Good Cop gave Bad Cop the final push to help the Master Builders.

After the world was saved, Good Cop detailed the headspace. Bad Cop went through it once, came back a few hours later, then gave him another hug. According to him, it was very lovely, but it wasn't as fun without the other.

Good Cop agreed.


End file.
